I think it's a comfortable read and it will appeal to a fairly wide range of seekers. I think it was edited very well and it is exactly what it states: a personal journey from religion to reason.

I downloaded the audiobook as soon as it became available. For those who don't think they have the time to read, I highly recommend the audio version. Of course, Seth read the audiobook himself and I really liked that. It was quite enjoyable and I went through it a couple of times. It actually went by so quickly, I wanted more!

A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move to higher levels. ~ Albert Einstein

(08-04-2013 02:00 PM)kim Wrote: I think it's a comfortable read and it will appeal to a fairly wide range of seekers. I think it was edited very well and it is exactly what it states: a personal journey from religion to reason.

I downloaded the audiobook as soon as it became available. For those who don't think they have the time to read, I highly recommend the audio version. Of course, Seth read the audiobook himself and I really liked that. It was quite enjoyable and I went through it a couple of times. It actually went by so quickly, I wanted more!

I felt very alone during my 2007 middle-aged deconversion, despite living in the most unchurched part of the country (Pacific Northwest). However, as time passed fellow faith-expats like Seth Andrews published their exodus stories and I began to feel like I was part of a burgeoning movement. Reading "Deconverted" was like a trip through memory lane, and I easily identified with the story of a man who, after decades in the Church, finally figured out it was a house of cards and abandoned a comfortably numb religious fantasy for the soothing balm of atheist rationality.

Mr. Andrews and I are both Generation X and therefore experienced many of the same Christian rites of passage, such as being scared towards God by the apocalyptic "Thief in the Night" cheese-fest series of movies and rocking out in a holy way to righteous acts like Petra and the Imperials. He got saved at a much earlier age than I did due in no small part to the influence of his Christian parents, but our post-conversion result was the same: a passion for all things Jesus and a quest to become a "man of God" via the Scriptural use of spiritual gifts and natural talents.

In the author's case, coming of age during the big boom of contemporary Christian music in the 80s and 90s led Mr. Andrews to his calling as a Christian radio deejay. At first life seemed divinely ordered, but as time went on he began to question his beliefs as he grieved over the senseless deaths of devout Christian musicians Keith Green and Rich Mullins, cringed at the excesses of evangelical luminaries such as Oral Roberts, and recoiled from the horrifying actions of religious fanatics during 9/11. Mr. Andrews' once fiery faith began to sputter and he settled into what a more zealous believer would call a "lukewarm" mindset.

But as the saying goes: "when the student is ready, the master will appear." This fateful event happened for Mr. Andrews (and me as well) when the New Atheists began releasing their controversial and hard-hitting tomes. In particular, raconteur Christopher Hitchens made a strong impression on the author with his witty and articulate demolition of all things religious. The last of Mr. Andrews' Christianity fell before the onslaught of Mr. Hitchens and his rational comrades, and he was reborn with a new mission as founder of The Thinking Atheist and producer of podcasts and video resources for non-believers.

Each chapter of "Deconverted" begins with an encouraging quote from a member of The Thinking Atheist Internet community. In addition to his personal tale, Mr. Andrews has gathered some of the gorier and more contradictory aspects of the Bible that are usually ignored or rationalized by believers (provided they actually read their holy book, which is less common than you might expect). His categorization of Christian apologetic archetypes was familiar and insightful as well (check out Bill Maher's fine documentary "Religulous" for real-life examples in the wild).

After finishing the book I was inspired to hit the Web and investigate Mr. Andrews' organization and other atheist-related websites and Facebook groups. Turns out I'm not so alone - "Deconverted" is now one of many ex-Christian memoirs, blogs, and groups where the newly rational can find fellowship and encouragement. Although lifelong unbelievers will enjoy "Deconverted", those of us who did time in Christianity will deeply appreciate and relate to Mr. Andrews' pilgrimage to atheism.